Welcome to the December issue of our e-books for FE newsletter. After a term (and a year) like no other before it, we hope you enjoy the holiday break as far as is possible within the ongoing restrictions.
Usage of our e-books reached an all-time high in November, with nearly 165,000 user sessions: an increase of 74% over November 2019. We really appreciate all the effort library services have made to ensure that our resources are meeting the demands of students and teaching staff in these challenging times.
UKSG Further Education 2020 Webinar Series, 25 Nov and 1 Dec
Presentations and recordings of the online seminars are now being made available at https://www.uksg.org/event/UKSGFE2020
For further information about the Jisc presentations in that series, please contact the speakers directly: Kellie Mote (Kellie.mote@jisc.ac.uk) for ‘Librarians as accessibility superheroes’, or Esther Barrett (Esther.barrett@jisc.ac.uk) for the Digital Wellbeing session.
November webinar clinic
There was plenty of feedback from attendees at the webinar on Thursday 26 November, which focused on the e-books for FE support site and reflections on the autumn term. Here are the questions we asked, with a summarised sample of responses.
“Has the increased focus on blended learning affected the library’s communications with teaching staff, and if so, how?”
There has been a significant increase in the number of teaching staff who are enquiring about e-books, including some who have never used e-books before. It is notable, though, that this interest is coming from individuals, rather than a strategic cohort of teaching staff within the organisation. Libraries are promoting e-books as the ‘Covid-safe option’, and MS Teams is providing a useful communications link between library and teaching staff.
“How has the increased focus on blended learning affected the library’s interactions with students?”
As above, the switch to increased virtual communications has enabled promotion of e-books via those platforms. However, the lack of footfall in the physical space (both students and teaching staff) has led to some uncertainty in assessing whether the library is reaching its users and how effectively. Following the USKG online seminar (25 Nov) it seems that Instagram is now being used more by libraries as a promotional platform for e-resources – “It’s early days but it seems to be working.”
“How are you keeping learners engaged with digital resources? How are you keeping them motivated?”
Responses included:
- highlighting subject-specific information
- targeting specific, potentially high usage groups
- digital resource of the week or month, promoted via tutor bulletin, displays, posters, etc.
- QR code stickers on physical books for which there is an e-book available
- being proactive in promoting e-resources, e.g. when responding to information enquiries, or via social media
- choosing resources that will cover a range of courses in order to catch the attention of lots of students, e.g. CREDO (https://search.credoreference.com/) and MASSOLIT (https://www.massolit.io/)
“What is your organisation doing in terms of building digital capabilities? (Either for teachers or learners)”
Responses included:
- a library partner working with IT to target digital learning
- creating a digital skills course for students as part of the library induction process
- ensuring that e-books are given top ranking by default in search results on the library catalogue
- creating short videos of good practice which are then available via Teams
- CPD for teaching staff to increase their online teaching skills, as part of a Jisc-informed Digital Culture strategy
“In terms of digital resources, what has worked well? What are you still struggling with?”
Responses included:
- IT infrastructure and connectivity can prevent resources from working properly
- digital poverty in terms of having enough devices for all students
- prohibitive cost and restrictive licences of some e-resources, and some titles not available in e-format
- managing staff expectations with regard to free e-resources, i.e. it’s not possible for everything they need
- not all teaching staff are fully engaged with the digital challenge
Please note there will be no webinar in January 2021.
Top 20 users in November 2020
Well done to all organisations who reached a spot in the top 20.
| Rank | Organisation | User sessions |
| 1 | Varndean College | 4420 |
| 2 | New City College | 3584 |
| 3 | Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College | 3174 |
| 4 | The Manchester College | 2858 |
| 5 | South Thames College | 2838 |
| 6 | Hereford Sixth Form College | 2802 |
| 7 | South & City College Birmingham | 2794 |
| 8 | Godalming College | 2763 |
| 9 | The WKCIC Group | 2662 |
| 10 | HCUC – Harrow College & Uxbridge College | 2634 |
| 11 | Middlesbrough College | 2489 |
| 12 | West College Scotland | 2476 |
| 13 | West Nottinghamshire College | 2327 |
| 14 | Coleg Cambria | 2190 |
| 15 | York College | 2127 |
| 16 | Newham Sixth Form College | 2102 |
| 17 | Richard Huish College | 2097 |
| 18 | Stockton Riverside College | 1994 |
| 19 | Farnborough Sixth Form College | 1898 |
| 20 | South Eastern Regional College | 1839 |
Mergers: If your organisation has recently merged with another, ProQuest may not have the most current merger information and your merger may not be reflected in the usage data. Please check with ProQuest and request that they update your account to reflect the merger. Their e-book support contact address is: ebooksupport@proquest.com
Top 20 titles in November 2020
| Rank | Title | User sessions |
| 1 | CACHE Level 3 Technical Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care | 10041 |
| 2 | CACHE Level 3 Child Care and Education : Early Years Educator | 8811 |
| 3 | BTEC Nationals Health and Social Care Student Book 1 | 7536 |
| 4 | BTEC Nationals Business Student Book 1 : For the 2016 specifications | 4657 |
| 5 | BTEC Nationals Applied Science Student Book 1 | 4520 |
| 6 | CACHE Level 2 Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner | 4210 |
| 7 | AQA A Level Biology (Year 1 and Year 2) | 4170 |
| 8 | BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 1 | 4104 |
| 9 | BTEC Nationals Health and Social Care Student Book 2 : For the 2016 specifications | 2637 |
| 10 | BTEC Level 3 National Health and Social Care: Student Book 2 | 2336 |
| 11 | Anatomy and Physiology (5th edition) | 2310 |
| 12 | OCR Sociology for A Level | 2202 |
| 13 | BTEC Level 3 National Public Services Student Book 1 | 2158 |
| 14 | AQA A-level Psychology Book 1 : For A-level Year 1 and AS | 2144 |
| 15 | AQA A-Level Business | 2075 |
| 16 | Psychology: the Science of Mind and Behaviour (8th Edition) | 2019 |
| 17 | BTEC Nationals Information Technology Student Book | 1965 |
| 18 | BTEC Nationals Business Student Book 2 : For the 2016 specifications | 1896 |
| 19 | OCR AS/A Level Law Book 1 | 1877 |
| 20 | CACHE Level 2 Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care | 1780 |
Support queries
Email: content.feandskills@jisc.ac.uk
Website: https://support.ebooksforfe.jisc.ac.uk/
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